After workers at seven of Saskatchewan’s crown corporations went on strike last Friday admist contract negotiations, Unifor stated yesterday that workers will be returning to work today, however, not all will be allowed to.

Reports state that Unifor has made the decision to resume work-to-rule, yet, SaskTel released a statement late yesterday stating they will not be permitting their employees to return to work.

“Unifor has indicated to its members that returning to work on October 8, 2019 is a short-term measure and that they will only provide 24 hours’ notice before going on strike again. It takes the corporation up to 48 hours to mobilize the business back and forth to have the necessary processes, systems and accesses reinstated. This creates far too much uncertainty and the corporation needs to ensure we are able to maintain the integrity of our networks and serve our customers in a safe and secure manner.”

Work-to-rule is an action in which employees do only what is required by the rules of their contract and nothing more, which may slow down or decrease productivity.

The statement from SaskTel also reads that they are considering applying for an injunction to stop Unifor’s illegal labour disruption activities, such as preventing non-union employees from reporting to work at the SaskTel Contact Centres. While Unifor members have the right to strike, non-unionized workers also have the right to get to work.
The statement reads that "it is unacceptable that management employees are being prevented from entering their workplace and are reportedly being threatened for attempting to do so
SaskPower on the other hand, released a statement proclaiming they will allow their employees to return to work today.

“SaskPower does not plan to lock out employees, and employees who return will be put to work. The main change that customers should notice for tomorrow is that our call centre will operate from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Today and this past Friday the call centre operated from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. “

In the recent contract negotiations, the Crowns were offered ad deal that didn’t include any wage increases for the first two years of the contract.